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LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 25, 1999

Kokotei: Kamakura cuisine with a view

For most city folk, the best thing about Kamakura is the reassurance that it actually exists. We don't need to go there so often: It's enough to know that, less than an hour away down the JR tracks, there really are quiet backstreets to wander in, temples and monuments exuding a whiff of history, brine...
COMMUNITY / CROSSING CULTURES
Mar 25, 1999

Glacial change hard for people more used to avalanche speed

Japan can't change. Change in Japan is glacial. Japanese are stuck in their ways. In Japan, disappointment is what you can expect if you expect change.
COMMUNITY
Mar 25, 1999

Teenage visions of the coming century

Ethiopian Eta Ferahu Tarekegne Gatahun loves lasagna and wants to set a sprint record. Sassy Melissa Corlett, a Hong Kong-born Brit, has no doubts that her future will be fantastic. Eka Sriamarwati, a young Balinese trance dancer, lists a tiny hair clip as her most prized possession. And in Tokyo, Nami...
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 1999

Fingerprints on cyberspace

Now, more than ever before, knowledge is power. The information society puts such a premium on sorting the wheat from the chaff, that relevant facts -- real knowledge -- are invaluable. There is a less recognized corollary of that truism: Data represent profit. Virtual mountains of data are accumulating...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

More nurses called for to avoid mishaps

A national union for nurses and other medical workers urged the government Wednesday to greatly increase the number of nurses to prevent the recurrence of medical accidents they say could be avoided with more medical help.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Local Elections: Megaprojects now nightmare to explain

Staff writer
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Mar 24, 1999

Degrees of separation

You could say they have an affliction. You've probably bumped into them on the street. That is, they bump into you, because they often walk with their eyes fixated on their task, oblivious to any obstacles in their path. You've definitely overheard them chatting on trains, in coffee shops, perhaps even...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 24, 1999

Kathmandu's bazaar of dreams

Some "old hands" are lamenting what they see as the passing of Asan Tole, that magical path through old Kathmandu where it seems Kipling's "the wildest dreams of Kew" really do come true.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 1999

One bullheaded Buddhist

LOYALTY DEMANDS DISSENT: Autobiography of an Engaged Buddhist, by Sulak Sivaraksa. Parallax Press, 1998, 450 baht. Sulak Sivaraksa, upon reaching the age of 65, decided to look backward and ponder decades of constant activity in Thai society. The book opens with a foreword by the Dalai Lama, who states...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Japan to help Russia dismantle nuclear subs

Staff writer
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Mar 24, 1999

A downer day

A friend of mine, a medical doctor who has spent many years in this country, was here during Japan's recent press spectacular, the first official transplant operation. I asked what he thought of the frenzy surrounding this lifesaving achievement. I think his comments should have a far wider circulation...
COMMUNITY
Mar 24, 1999

Tantalizing tempura a crowd-pleaser

Tempura is probably the most internationally popular Japanese dish. It seems difficult to cook the dishat home, but actually, tempura is a very simple dish and tastes good with any kind of ingredients.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 24, 1999

Martin and the king of Siam

A RESOUNDING FAILURE: Martin and the French in Siam, 1672-1693, by Michael Smithies. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1998, 156 pp., 395 baht. Of the many mercantile adventures that marked European exploitations of Asia, one of the most entertaining is that of the French in Siam. This is a well-known...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 1999

Softbank, Microsoft plan online car-shopping venture

Softbank Corp., Microsoft Corp., and Yahoo Japan Corp. announced Wednesday that they will establish a joint venture in April, capitalized at $7 million, offering a car-shopping information service for Japanese customers.
ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL
Mar 24, 1999

Weaving a fall brocade of spindle trees

The spindle tree family (nishikigi-ka, Celastraceae) contains some very ornamental trees, shrubs and climbers, among which nishikigi, the genus Euonymus, is a large group encompassing some 176 species. They grow wild in the temperate to warm regions of the world and can be found in Australia, Europe...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 1999

Frustration and anger produce great Korean fiction

A READY-MADE LIFE: Early Masters of Modern Korean Fiction, selected and translated by Kim Chong-un and Bruce Fulton. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998, 191 pp., $38 (cloth), $15.95 (paper). "What's driving me to drink isn't anger and isn't the dandies. It's this society -- our Korean society...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 24, 1999

Adventures in suspended reality

Porto Europa, just outside of Wakayama City, is without doubt a playful place to visit and offers a wide range of entertainment, action rides, cuisines and new technology games, but don't expect it to duplicate your last sojourn overseas.
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 1999

Another global survival gambit

The tieup deal between Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA, which will be officially announced on Saturday, is about to change the face of the world auto industry. The French carmaker has decided to take a controlling stake of 35 percent in Nissan. The money Renault will pay for Nissan shares, estimated...
COMMENTARY
Mar 23, 1999

Strategies for a secure Japan

Diet has finally begun debating the enabling bills for the Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines, almost a year after the government sent them to the legislature last April. How the debate will develop in the weeks ahead has an important bearing on the security environment of Asia, including the...
CULTURE / Music
Mar 23, 1999

Fusion group raises the Five Star Flag

"You'll never be able to guess the next song!"
JAPAN
Mar 22, 1999

Italian theme, cheaper goods key to joint outlet mall

Staff writer
JAPAN
Mar 22, 1999

Dioxin high near Nose incinerator

OSAKA -- Tests on soil samples taken from areas around a controversial incinerator in the town of Nose, Osaka Prefecture, revealed that two sites had dioxin levels exceeding limits set by the Environment Agency, operators of the facility said Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 1999

Doctors far from malpractice accountability

Staff writer
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 21, 1999

Reach out and touch your four-footed friends

Do you ever get the feeling that your cat isn't listening to you? Have you ever tried to find a gift for the dog who has everything? Don't despair. The latest in pet communication is here: greeting cards for cats and dogs.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 1999

Consensus or confrontation?

LONDON -- The popular image in Japan is that Britain is a society governed by confrontation and that this has been the source of British failures. Japan, on the other hand, is a society where consensus prevails, and this has led to harmony and to economic success. The popular image is at best a caricature...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Mar 21, 1999

Obligations

What a downer! A reader has just looked at his calendar and realized that March 15 has passed -- and he forgot to file his Japanese tax return. While he should do it as soon as possible, he does not need to worry. Japan's bureaucracy tends to be compassionate in such matters, especially when the wrongdoer...
CULTURE / Art
Mar 20, 1999

Japanese custodians of French 'Liberty'

On the occasion of French President Jacques Chirac's visit to Japan in 1996, an exchange of national treasures was agreed upon for the 1998-1999 "Year of France in Japan." Following this agreement, Kudara Kannon, a 7th-century 2-meter wooden bodhisattva from Nara's Horyuji Temple, was sent to France...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 1999

Learning on the job can be a good idea

The value of education has become a cliche. But few people seem to realize that school-based education can often prove a liability. Consider the views of Ram Mohan, a young farmer from the Indian state of Rajasthan, who refused to go to school. "My father wanted me to go," he said, "but I didn't. My...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Mar 20, 1999

The squirrel or the eagle?

Thirty-five years ago, during the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution," China's Chairman Mao Zedong announced the coming of an uncompromising global struggle between the City and the Village. China, in Mao's eyes the best country in the world, symbolized the sturdy and righteous Village. Haughty and...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 1999

U.S. apologists for China disregard reality

"China apologists," mainly representing newspapers and academic haunts in Los Angeles, New York and Boston, claim that the rest of us are beating up on China merely because Beijing is into heavy-duty spying on the United States, stealing high-tech secrets and deploying enough missiles opposite Taiwan...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji